MHOA History

Quick Launch

In 1977, Henry Garcia of Los Angeles, Jose Canchola of Nogales and eight other Hispanic franchisees organized the McDonald's Hispanic Operators Association (MHOA) as a national partnership with the corporation. The organization has positioned it's membership as a direct link to our customers. They serve the unique needs of their market - both in the restaurant and in the community.

The MHOA is governed by a recently restructured Executive Board elected by the membership that includes a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, five Division Presidents, the Immediate Past President and NLC representative. This structure is more conducive to solving problems at the regional or divisional level closer to the issues and line decision-makers.

The MHOA is the largest organization of Hispanic franchisees in the country. The organization represents the majority of all Hispanic owner/operators totaling over 177, while the number stores total over 549. There are currently over thirty states with MHOA membership. The stores generate annual revenues in excess of $772 million, based on average sales of over $1.5 million per restaurant. If ranked by combined sales in the Hispanic Business Hispanic 500 listing, Hispanic- owned McDonald's restaurants would be the second largest company.

Currently the MHOA has as its main concerns, the sales and cash flow of the tenured Hispanic owner/operators, the Hispanic second-generation effort, the number and level of the Hispanic Corporate Employees, Hispanic Purchasing and Marketing. The MHOA has taken the initiative to educate McDonald's on the cultural norms and values of the rapidly growing Hispanic community.

The current vision of the MHOA is " To assure that McDonald's maintains its position as the preferred QSR of choice within the Hispanic Consumer Market on a local and national level". The organization sees itself as an advocate for both McDonald's and the Hispanic Owner/Operators. Their approach to solving problems has been one of negotiation rather than taking an adversarial role towards the company.

The MHOA has been and is a very visible part of the Hispanic with such initiatives and programs as the Ronald McDonald House Charities/Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resource scholarship program. H.A.C.E.R. was established in 1985 and is now supported by a $1 million dollar grant from RMHC. There are chapters of HACER in 21 states and is the country's largest program for Hispanic high school students entering college.